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1 review
The Mono provides a great viewing alternative to many compact or pocket sized binoculars. The waterproof mono is the perfect solution for those who want to get detailed views on a distance, but lack storage space for binoculars, or don't have both hands free to operate binoculars. The Mono has a thick rubber armor that will protect it from shocks and jolts, and has a foldable rubber eyecup allowing comfortable viewing with or without spectacles.
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Posted by Editor on 02/1/13
For the past 30 years, Louis Garneau apparel has played a key role in the performance, success, and professional appearance of the Canadian Cycling Teams at eight Olympic Summer Games. Louis Garneau and Cycling Canada announced today the renewal of their partnership as the Official Cycling Apparel Sponsor of Cycling Canada for an additional four-year term, and subsequently the cycling apparel provider for the Canadian Cycling Teams at the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
"Our role in the future of Canadian cycling is an essential component of our company's DNA. From a historical perspective, the relationship between my company and Cycling Canada stems back to my participation in the 1984 Olympic Games and my son's participation at the 2008 Junior World Championship. As we look towards the future, in a time when the sport of professional cycling is volatile and its merits are being contested, this partnership pertains to the investment in the future of cycling and the athletes that will continue the sport that has been my passion and livelihood," remarks President and Founder Louis Garneau.
"Our cycling performance wear has been proven, through research and development, to improve speed and performance at the high-level competitive stage these athletes compete in," said Louis Garneau Global Marketing Director Pierre Perron. "A key element of our multi-year renewal is based on continuing this legacy of close collaboration on product design through access to world-class athletes, scientists, aerodynamicists, wind-tunnel facilities, and real-world testing. Because of this, Louis Garneau is known for its commitment to driving innovation for the future and pushing technology even further."
"We are delighted to benefit from the renewed partnership with Louis Garneau for the next four years. Both Cycling Canada and Louis Garneau have always been committed to providing our cycling athletes with the best possible tools they require to perform at the highest international level. By working with LG to design state-of-the-art competitive clothing, our athletes will continue to perform on the international scene with the best apparel on the market," said Cycling Canada High Performance Director Jacques Landry. "Building on the success that Cycling Canada has had over the last four years by implementing a system to support our athletes' potential, the next four years will be devoted to focusing on the processes that will give our athletes the optimal chances to win medals at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio."
Louis Garneau has outfitted the Canadian Cycling Teams in performance apparel since 1984 (the year Louis himself participated in the Los Angeles Games). Louis Garneau will continue to supply the teams with leading, technologically advanced apparel for optimal performances. Louis Garneau is known for its high performance apparel that outfits some of the top riders and athletes in the world. The Louis Garneau logo will be prominently featured on the Canadian Cycling Teams uniforms in international races every year.
Since the date of the original partnership in 1984, Cycling Canada athletes have won 10 Olympic medals and collected 65 UCI World Championships medals.
Return to Canadian Cyclist homepage | Back to Top |

subset: commoncrawl


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Wisconsin to Be First State Ever to Nullify Federal Cannabis Prohibition
Madison, WI – Yet another state is moving towards legalizing cannabis for medical and recreational use. However, Wisconsin is going about it in a most Constitutional way. The state of Wisconsin introduced a bill last week that would effectively nullify the federal prohibition of marijuana in the state.
According to the 10th Amendment Center:
"Rep. Melissa Sargent (D-Madison) and 17 co-sponsors introduced Assembly Bill 482 (AB482) on Aug. 24. The legislation would legalize marijuana under a tax-and-regulate system enforced at the state level similar to alcohol. Under the proposed law, a Wisconsin resident who is at least 21 could legally possess no more than two ounces of marijuana and a nonresident of Wisconsin who is at least 21 could possess no more than one-quarter ounce of marijuana. The legislation would also create a licensing structure for the cultivation, processing and sale of marijuana. Additionally, the bill would create a process for medical marijuana use."
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"This bill is so much more than legalizing marijuana—it's about legalizing opportunity and prosperity," Rep. Sargent said. "The state budget was due two weeks ago, and Wisconsin simply can't afford to wait any longer. We deserve a real plan to create new jobs and stimulate our lagging economy, and that's what this bill is."
If successful, the legislation would make Wisconsin the first state to legalize cannabis through a state legislative process, as every other state has utilized a ballot initiative to effectively nullify the federal prohibition.
State nullification of federal marijuana prohibition is completely constitutional, with the feds having little, if any, recourse to stop the process. Despite the federal contention that the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) gives the federal government authority to completely prohibit cannabis within a state's borders, one need only ask themselves why a constitutional amendment was necessary to enact a nationwide prohibition on alcohol to clearly see the flimsy basis on which the federal prohibition of cannabis stands.
While federal prohibition would remain on the books, the passage of AB482 would remove the vast majority of laws prohibiting the use and possession of marijuana under which people are prosecuted by law enforcement in Wisconsin.
The reality is that law enforcement in Wisconsin makes approximately 99 of 100 marijuana arrests under state, not federal law, according to FBI statistics. By choosing to end the state prohibition of cannabis, Wisconsin can effectively eliminate the basis for 99 percent of arrests for cannabis.
It's clear the federal government lacks the resources to prohibit marijuana without the assistance of state governments. Figures indicate that it would take 40 percent of the DEA's annual budget to simply investigate and raid the dispensaries in just the city of Los Angeles—a single city in just one state.
If this legislation passes, Wisconsin will become the latest of a growing number of states that have chosen to nullify marijuana prohibition. However, it would be the first state to legalize recreational marijuana through the state legislature rather than the ballot initiative process.
Colorado, Washington state, Oregon and Alaska were the first states to usurp the federal probation of cannabis for recreational use, only to be joined by California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts after successful ballot initiatives to legalize cannabis last year.
Additionally, a total of 29 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico now allow for comprehensive public medical marijuana and cannabis programs, while recently approved efforts in 18 states allow use of "low THC, high cannabidiol (CBD)" products for medical reasons in limited situations or as a legal defense, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
With a majority of states now allowing cannabis for medical use as well, the federal government finds themselves in a position where they can no longer sustain the ability to enforce marijuana prohibition.
"The lesson here is pretty straight forward. When enough people say, 'No!' to the federal government, and enough states pass laws backing those people up, there's not much the feds can do to shove their so-called laws, regulations or mandates down our throats," Tenth Amendment Center founder and executive director Michael Boldin said.
Currently, AB482 is in the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety. The legislation will need to pass by a majority vote before it can be considered by the full State Assembly.


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- Home
- Government
- Elected Officials
- Justice of the Peace
- Precinct Two
- Function and Duties
Function and Duties
Function and Duties of the Justice of the Peace
The Justice of the Peace is the legal jurisdiction closest to the average citizen. It is often referred to as "The People's Court". Justices of the Peace serve both as Judge and Magistrate. There are currently four Justice of the Peace precincts in Ellis County, each elected to a four year term.
The Justices adjudicate class C misdemeanor cases punishable by fine only, including traffic tickets, penal code offenses, and issuance of bad checks. Law Enforcement agencies, including but not limited to the Ellis County Constable offices in each precinct, Ellis County Sheriff's Department, Department of Public Safety, Ellis County Department of Development and other local department agencies file complaints in the justice criminal court. Justices, as Magistrates also deal extensively with juvenile matters including school attendance cases, minor alcohol and tobacco violations and juvenile magistration hearings.
The Justice of the Peace has authority to preside over County and State ordinances; including burn bans, environmental violations involving illegal dumping and other administrative hearings such as illegal towing, and animal cruelty cases.
The Justice of the Peace has exclusive jurisdiction in all civil matters in which the amount of controversy for property and or damages does not exceed $20,000, INCLUDING attorney fees, but EXCLUDING court costs and interest. Every party to a civil suit has the right to request a jury proceeding. Justices sit in judgment of Small Claim cases, Debt Claim cases, Eviction cases, Repair and Remedy cases involving landlord and tenant matters, possession of property concerning foreclosure of mortgages and enforcement of liens on personal property, and occupational driver's license hearings.
As Magistrates, Justices of the Peace issue warrants for search and arrest, preside over arraignments, admonish prisoners, and set bonds. They also conduct property hearings, examining trials, handle emergency protective orders and County wide coroner duties for inquests on deaths that occur when not attended by a physician and approve cremation orders. Additionally and one of the more privileged duties carried out by the Justice of the Peace is to officiate over marriage ceremonies.
Plaintiffs and Defendants may represent themselves in any case before the Justice Court. All parties are urged to discuss their case with licensed legal counsel for any legal advice or questions prior to filing any case, answer and or criminal plea with the Court.
The Rules of Judicial Ethics explicitly states that Justices and the Clerks of the Court must be impartial and are prohibited by the rules to offer legal advice or to express any opinions of law. The Justices and Clerks of the Court cannot tell any party how to present their case, hear any part of a case, or discuss the merits of any case unless all parties are present.
The Justices and Clerks of the Court are accessible at any time during normal business hours and can answer any questions of general nature, regarding procedures of the Court and questions concerning Court Costs and Fines.


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The GuySpeed Guide: 5 Pre-Workout Stretch Tips
Going to the gym and working out can leave one's body feeling worn out and full of aches and pains. But thankfully, you can help lessen the crippling effects of trying to look good with a few simple stretches. And lucky for you, we've got 5 tips on just how to achieve Gumby-like flexibility.
- 1
Get warmed up with a series of toe touches.
- 2
Bend as far back as you can while cupping your buns lovingly.
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Using machines to stretch is totally optional. Do what works best for you!
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When picking out a color, yellow exercise outfits can help enhance concentration.
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Stretching with friends is a great social activity too!


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CarePlay's Squirrel Ride-On Walker is cute, durable and an excellent way to encourage exercise for your toddlers. The molded plastic walker has double-walled wheels and heavy-duty axles that support up to 200 pounds. Two sets of handles – one on the head and one on the tail – allow kids to sit or stand as they push. The low seat makes it easy to climb aboard and the wide base keeps it from tipping. A high seat back offers extra support. Use the walker inside or outdoors. Recommended for ages 1 to 3 years.
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San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The San Diego Chargers signed inside linebacker Kavell Conner to a three-year contract on Thursday.
Conner spent the past four seasons with the Colts, starting 36 of the 52 games he played. He had 236 tackles, one sack and two forced fumbles, including a 104-tackle season in 2011 when he played in all 16 games.
The Clemson product appeared in 10 games last year due to injuries.
The 27-year old joins current inside linebackers Donald Butler, Manti Te'o, Andrew Gachkar, Jonas Mouton and Terrell Manning on the roster.


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Popular SciencePopular Science gives our readers the information and tools to improve
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Science and our readers share: The future is going to be better, and
science and technology are the driving forces that will help make it
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Where Did Jackson Pollock Get His Ideas?
A talented painter who died poor and forgotten may have inspired the influential American artist's work in ceramics
One of the more surprising and unusual works in the new American Wing of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is an early ceramic bowl by Jackson Pollock, decorated in black and fierce fiery red, which was acquired in 2010 by the museum. The MFA describes the bowl as influenced by El Greco, which is not entirely wrong, since Pollock made pencil copies after paintings by El Greco around this time. But I'd like to propose that it's possible to pin down its source more precisely. I believe it's inspired by a work by a now largely forgotten painter of the 1930s, Ross Braught—in fact, based on Braught's most ambitious painting, a mural in the Kansas City Music Hall. Identifying this source opens up a whole new set of questions and speculations.
Pollock's interest in ceramics was inspired by the work of his teacher, Thomas Hart Benton, who had discovered during his impoverished years in New York that it was easier to sell decorated ceramics than paintings.
Pollock's surviving ceramics seem to have been made at two times.He made one group during four successive summers, 1934-1937, while staying on Martha's Vineyard with Benton and his wife, Rita. The Bentons kept quite a few of these ceramics and eventually donated them to various museums. The others were made in 1939 while Pollock was being treated for alcoholism at the Bloomingdale Hospital. Just two of these pieces survive, but they're Pollock's most impressive early ceramics: Flight of Man, the piece now in Boston, which he gave to his psychiatrist, James H. Wall, and The Story of My Life, which he made at the same time and sold to a gentleman named Thomas Dillon in Larchmont, New York. The whereabouts of this last piece are unknown. At the time Pollock made these two pieces, he had just returned from a visit to the Bentons in Kansas City, the only time he visited there.
The Story of My Life contains a series of scenes: an archer shooting an arrow at some horses in the sky; a sleeping woman; a child in fetal position; and a boat sailing on restless seas. Pollock's biographers, Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, have described it as "an impenetrable allegory"; in fact, its meaning is easy to construe once we recognize its source, an illustrated book, Phaeton, published by Braught in 1939. Phaeton was the son of Apollo and obtained permission from him to drive the chariot of the sun. But since he was unable to control the horses, the chariot plunged down close to earth, scorching the planet. To prevent further destruction, Apollo was forced to shoot his son down from the sky. The two most significant images on Pollock's bowl, the archer and the sleeping woman are both derived from Braught's book. The third, the boat on restless seas, relates to paintings that Pollock had made earlier on Martha's Vineyard, of the boat of Benton's son, T.P., sailing on Menemsha Pond. Clearly Pollock saw Phaeton's story as parallel to his own life as an artist. At one moment he was soaring to great heights, at the next crashing to earth.
If we accept this source, it's not surprising to discover that Pollock's second painted bowl, the one in Boston, was also based on a work by Braught. Its imagery resembles that of the most ambitious painting of Braught's career, a 27-feet-high mural, Mnemosyne and the Four Muses, which he created for the Kansas City Music Hall. As the title indicates, the swirling composition shows Mnemosyne, or Memory, who was the mother of the muses, and four muses, who are emerging from clouds that float over a landscape of the badlands of South Dakota. Braught also made a painting of the landscape at the bottom, which he titled Tchaikovsky's Sixth (1936; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art). This was the last piece that Tchaikovsky wrote before he died—as some believe, by committing suicide. Perhaps that's the music we're meant to imagine when we look at the painting.
To be sure, Pollock didn't follow his source very closely. What he took was Braught's general formula: a central floating figure with outstretched arms, suffused with mysterious light, surrounded by other figures and cloud-like forms that fill the surrounding space. I suspect that close study would reveal prototypes for many of Pollock's figures. For example, the over-scaled figure on the right-hand side loosely relates to a painting he had made shortly before, Naked Man with Knife (c. 1938; Tate, London). Compared with Braught's design, Pollock's is somewhat crude, with figures of differing scales, which often fill their spaces somewhat awkwardly. But it was precisely Pollock's departures from traditional ideas of correct proportion or well-resolved design that led to his wildly expressive later work.
Who was Ross Braught? Why was Pollock interested in him?
Braught just preceded Benton as the head of the painting department at the Kansas City Art Institute. An eccentric figure, he bore a striking resemblance to Boris Karloff. He generally wore a black cape, and sometimes brought a skeleton with him on the streetcar, so that he could draw it at home. His work had a mystical, visionary cast. It clearly held strong appeal for Pollock at a time when he was going through intense emotional turmoil, and was also attempting to move beyond the influence of Benton.
Pollock surely met Braught in 1939, just before he made the bowl, when he visited the Bentons in Kansas City in January of that year. At the time, Pollock also socialized with Ted Wahl, the printer of Braught's lithographs for Phaeton. While not well known today, Braught was getting a good deal of press coverage at the time, both for his painting for the Kansas City Music Hall, which was praised in Art Digest, and for his lithograph Mako Sica, which received a first prize at the Mid-Western Exhibit at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1935 (and became the subject of articles questioning its merit shortly afterward in the Print Collector's Quarterly).
Sadly, Braught's career faded at this point, perhaps in part because he was so unworldly and impractical. After leaving Kansas City in 1936, he lived for most of the next decade in the tropics, where he made drawings and paintings of dense jungle foliage. From 1946 to 1962, he returned to teach at the Kansas City Art Institute, but in 1962, when Abstract Expressionism was in vogue, he was fired because his style was considered too old-fashioned. The figure who had inspired Jackson Pollock was no longer good enough to matter. Braught spent the last 20 years of his life living in extreme poverty in Philadelphia, no one knows exactly where.
There's been only one exhibition of Braught's work since his death, a show at Hirschl & Adler Galleries in New York in March-April 2000, accompanied by an excellent, hard-to-find catalog written by David Cleveland. Both the Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia have paintings by him in their collections.
For two reasons, Pollock's interest in Braught is worth noting. One is that when we identify Pollock's sources, his creative process is illuminated and we can see the step-by-step process by which he moved toward being an original artist. In some ways it's a bit deflating. Pollock clearly started off as a copyist. Nonetheless, while Pollock's bowl is in some ways quite derivative, you can already sense his emerging artistic personality.
Second, perhaps Pollock's interest in Braught will encourage a modest revival of interest in Braught. Braught's output is so scarce that he'll surely never be regarded as a major figure, but it is well worth a visit to see his work at the Kansas City Music Hall, one of the greatest Art Deco interiors anywhere, which also houses some good paintings made around the same time by Walter Bailley.
Braught's Mnemosyne and the Four Muses is surely one of the weirdest and most unusual wall paintings in this country. As you stand in front of it, you wonder why Pollock chose it as a model for his own work and what to make of his artistic taste. Was he misguided? Or right to be inspired by an artist who's now so thoroughly forgotten?
There's a copy of Ross Braught's book Phaeton in the library of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Some early ceramics by Jackson Pollock reside in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and in a few private hands.


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ATLANTA – A lawyer for a woman who says Michael Jordan fathered her teenage son has withdrawn her paternity suit, but left open the possibility that it could be refiled.
Attorney Randall Kessler said Monday that Pamela Smith "stands by the facts alleged in her original filing."
Kessler says the lawsuit was withdrawn Friday without prejudice, meaning it can be refiled.
Smith last month filed the suit against Jordan herself and asked that the basketball hall of famer take a paternity test and pay child support. She later hired Kessler's firm.
Jordan has said he's not the father. A lawyer for the owner of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats has said Smith's divorce filings established her ex-husband as the father.
Kessler previously said the ex-husband hasn't paid child support or been involved in the teen's life.


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A Ship on the High Seas Caught by a Squall, Known as 'The Gust', Willem van de Velde (II), c. 1680
This large, 70-gun British warship is in distress. A fierce gust of wind has broken one of its masts, and a sail has come loose. In 1672, Willem van de Velde II, together with his father, who was also a marine painter, entered the service of the English court. He made this painting and its companion, The Cannon Shot, in England.


text: Hi, I have installed the beowulf master node (100 MB for nodes and 10 MB for internet) and right now i am trying to connect a slave to the master with the help of a dual speed hub DS108. but i get the following error message: Executing beowulf start SIOCSIFADDR : no such device eth1: unknown interface: no such device SIOCSIFNETMASK : no such device any help would be highly appreciated. Thanks, ruhiya


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When a call comes into Jersey City Medical Center's 911 dispatchers reporting a drug overdose, the culprit is not always heroin these days – although Hudson County, like many places around the country, has seen the new and more potent varieties of the classic opiate. These days, with the variety of over the counter drugs, and the widespread misuse of prescription pain killers, calls might come from a rich neighborhood as easily as from a poor neighborhood.
Fortunately, an overdose does not have to mean death as it once often did. A change in state law and relatively new medical delivery devices have expanded the number of emergency personnel allowed to carry and administer drugs that counter the effects of overdoses and buy time for people on the verge of death.
Thanks to a change of law, EMTs and other trained public safety personnel can now administer the life-saving drugs.
Jersey City Medical Center's (JCMC) Emergency Medical Services (EMS) unit has announced that it has approved a policy to allow its Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) to administer the drug Naloxone, also known as Narcan, to individuals experiencing, or believed to be experiencing, opiate overdose.
Reversing an overdose
A person who overdoses on an opiate such as morphine, codeine, and heroin can have a reduced respiratory drive and stop breathing all together. Naloxone reverses the opiate's effects and can restore the patient's breathing almost immediately.
Naloxone blocks the opiate's effect on the brain. Although previously administered via injection, EMTs carry syringes with no needle and instead use a device called a nasal atomizer that injects a mist into the patient's nose.
JCMC EMS staff are trained to administer Naloxone via a Mucosal Atomization Device (MAD), allowing the medication to be sprayed directly into the nose instead of via injection.
All EMT ambulances that service Jersey City and paramedic units that service most of Hudson County, including Guttenberg, North Bergen, Secaucus, Union City, West New York, Weehawken, Hoboken, Jersey City and Bayonne, will carry the devices.
This is the first time EMS in Hudson County will be able to administer the drug. Previously, administration of Naloxone has been limited to JCMC EMS Advanced Life Support personnel.
Trained to look for physical signs of opiate use, EMTs will use Naloxone only in life-threatening situations, allowing the patient to step back from the edge of death to be transported for care to a local hospital.
Since JCMC has as many as 16 ambulance crews on duty at any given time as opposed the four to six paramedic units that were previously allowed to administer the drug, Naloxone will now be available to a wider portion of the population.
"Narcotic overdoses are a rising problem in our urban communities, across Hudson County, and throughout New Jersey," said Steven Cohen, assistant director of EMS/Quality, Performance Improvement & Education at Jersey City Medical Center. "[Naloxone] is a tool that allows us to reduce the incidence of fatal overdoses. Jersey City Medical Center EMS is excited to be the first in Hudson County to add this life-saving medication to every EMT toolbox. This policy will allow for faster administration in the field, which will result in more lives being saved."
Heroin use has become popular again, and thus the risk of overdose has also risen. But so has the misuse of prescription drugs that have the same ability to cause overdose. Unlike heroin, which can be difficult for people in some economic levels to obtain, prescription opiate drugs are often found in parent's or family member's medicine cabinets.
In the past, when EMTs arrived on a call of an opiate drug overdose, they had limited options, and in many cases the victim died. In the last few years, however, help administered at the scene can save the life.
Although Naloxone was developed in the early 1960s, the drug had not been widely available until the recent development of alternative delivery systems. In the past, Naloxone had to be injected directly into a vein, which required specific medical training. Recently, new delivery devices such as those used for delivery of drugs for diabetics have made the drug more easily available. The spray system JCMC is using, however, is the least complicated and most easily administered.
Al Sullivan may be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Your Source for Venture Capital and Private Equity Financings
Venture Capital News: Invoca Raises $20M in Series C
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SANTA BARBARA, CA, Largest provider of cloud-based inbound call marketing technology, today announced it closed $20 million in Series C funding led by Accel Partners.
>> Click here for more funding data on Invoca
>> To export Invoca funding data to PDF and Excel, click here
Invoca, now the largest provider of cloud-based inbound call marketing technology, today announced it closed $20 million in Series C funding led by Accel Partners, with participation from previous investors Upfront Ventures and Rincon Venture Partners. The funding will be used to scale operations and further accelerate its annual revenue growth rate of nearly 200 percent.
Invoca was founded in 2008 and has become the standard solution for Fortune 1000 and Inc. 500 companies, including Liberty Mutual Insurance, OpenTable, Answer Financial and DirecTV. In 2013, more than $1 billion of transactions were completed over Invoca's platform. More than 3,000 marketers currently use Invoca's inbound call marketing software every week to generate better leads, higher conversion rates and thus more revenue.
'There are more than 30 billion inbound sales calls from customers to businesses in the US every year. And with the penetration of smart phones and the rapid growth of mobile search, that number will double over the next few years. The simple facts are that inbound phone calls drive much higher close rates and higher purchase values than closing on the Internet. The numbers tell the story,' said Invoca CEO Jason Spievak. 'Accel's track record of driving technology companies to the next level will help us make marketing automation and CRM complete.'
Invoca's patented call marketing automation platform and analytics software provide the complete solution demanded by CMOs -- attribution and analytics, programmatic marketing automation, and integrations with leading marketing systems such as Salesforce, Kenshoo, Marketo, iCrossing, CAKE, Tealium, and HasOffers among others.
'Despite the fact that their highest-value leads arrive through phone calls, CMOs are routinely stymied by the call channel, assuming that it lacks the same measurement and optimization that other digital channels possess. Invoca is changing that mindset by offering the most effective solutions available to enterprise marketers in this channel,' said Accel Partners' Kobie Fuller. 'We believe that CMOs will increasingly drive quantitative ad spends through SaaS automation platforms, and phone calls are becoming a critical component in this effort. Invoca's management team has proven relevant past success from which they are uniquely positioned to build what we consider will be a category defining business.'
'Accel's investment is a vote of confidence for the inbound call channel -- an underserved area of enterprise software where we project considerable growth as the age of smartphones marches forward,' said Michael Boland, senior analyst and VP, Content BIA/Kelsey. 'We're seeing clear hunger among companies in high value categories like insurance and high tech to better capture and track incoming, high-intent phone leads. Invoca is on top of these trends and should continue to lead the segment.'
CMOs are aggressively pursuing marketing technologies that complete and automate the highest value marketing efforts, and for nearly every marketer, an inbound phone call is the highest value source of new business, and often the least transparent. Even though the inbound call channel is a more than $5 billion marketplace in the US today, until Invoca there were no SaaS solutions for inbound call marketing automation.
Kobie Fuller has joined Invoca's board of directors, which also includes Brett Queener (former Salesforce EVP and GM of Marketing Cloud), Josh Jacobs (Global CEO of Accuen and President of Platforms and Partnerships for Omnicom), Mark Suster (Managing Partner of Upfront Ventures) and John Greathouse (Partner of Rincon Venture Partners).
About Invoca
Invoca is the industry-leading provider of enterprise inbound call marketing solutions. The cloud-based platform delivers complete campaign management, clear attribution, practical analytics and mobile optimization tools in one easy-to-use solution, while seamlessly integrating with the solutions marketers already use. Invoca helps businesses to get better-qualified, higher-converting customers and optimize spend across online, offline and mobile marketing channels. Proven revenue-generating partnerships with leading Fortune 1000 and Inc. 500 brands make Invoca the industry-leading solution for enterprise inbound call marketing. Invoca was founded in 2008 by a team of technology executives who built their prior startup into a multi-hundred million-dollar public company. Invoca is backed by leading venture capital firms Accel Partners, Upfront Ventures and Rincon Venture Partners. For more information, please visit
About Accel Partners
Founded in 1983, Accel Partners has a long history of partnering with outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams to build world-class businesses. Accel today invests globally using dedicated teams and market-specific strategies for local geographies, with offices in Palo Alto, California, New York City, London, and Bangalore, as well as in China via its partnership with IDG-Accel.
Accel has helped entrepreneurs build over 300 successful technology companies, many of which have defined their categories, including 99designs, Actuate, AdMob, Agile Software, AirWatch, Alfresco, Angry Birds (Rovio), Atlassian, BBN, Bonobos, Braintree, Brightcove, Cloudera, ComScore, Diapers.com (Quidsi), Dropbox, Etsy, Facebook, Flipkart, Fusion-IO, Gameforge, GlamMedia, Groupon, HasOffers, Imperva, Infinera, Interwoven, IronPlanet, JBoss, Kayak, Lookout, Macromedia, metroPCS, MoPub, Myntra, Nimble Storage, Opower, OzForex, Polycom/PictureTel, Playfish, Portal Software, QlikTech, Quidsi, Real Networks, Redback, Responsys, Riverbed, Spotify, Squarespace, SuperCell, SunRun, Trulia, UUNet, Veritas, Walmart.com, Webroot, Wonga, XenSource and Zimbra.
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text: Pressemeddelelse Quincy, MA, September 9, 2014 – Icelandair will begin seasonal non-stop service from Portland, Oregon to Reykjavik, Iceland beginning May 20, 2015 and continuing through October 21, 2015. With this new route, Icelandair now provides flights to its third gateway in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, and 14th overall in the United States and Canada. Icelandair's 2015 route network is the largest in the airline's history with flights to more than 20 destinations throughout Europe. As a result of this announcement, the Portland metro area's 2.3 million residents will gain access to one of the regions fastest elapsed flying times to popular European destinations including London, Copenhagen, Paris, Stockholm and Munich. With low fares in three cabins of service, personal in-flight entertainment, on-board Wi-Fi access, and the exciting option of booking an Icelandair Stopover in Iceland at no additional airfare for up to seven nights, Icelandair is excited to bring this refreshing new alternative to Oregon. "The past six years have been very positive for Icelandair and we aim to continue on the same path in 2015," says Birkir Hólm Gudnason, CEO of Icelandair. "With today's announcements we will continue to strengthen our position in the international market between North America and Europe offering increased flight capacity, new gateways, and more aircraft than any year prior. With both business and leisure travel to Iceland poised to increase further, our extensive route network provides passengers with an unrivaled opportunity, and we are very excited to team with Portland as they become an important part of this continued success." Service from Portland International Airport (PDX) will operate on Wednesdays and Fridays with departures at 3:40pm, arriving at Icelandair's hub at Keflavik International Airport the following morning at 6:15am, with a total flight time of just over seven hours. Return service departs Keflavik on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:15pm, with same-day arrival in Portland at 6:15pm. Additionally, with Icelandair continuing the cooperation with their partner Alaska Airlines, convenient connections to Icelandair's extensive route network are now available via their Portland hub. Cities include Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, as well as gateways in Hawai'i and Alaska, amongst others. Icelandair offers service to Iceland from Boston, New York-JFK, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Denver, Toronto and Edmonton, with seasonal service from Newark, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Orlando Sanford, Portland, Vancouver, Halifax, and Anchorage. Connections through Icelandair's hub at Keflavik International Airport are available to more than 20 destinations in Scandinavia, the U.K. and Continental Europe. Only Icelandair allows passengers to stopover in Iceland for up to seven nights at no additional airfare. For additional information about Icelandair's fares and packages to Iceland & beyond please visit us atwww.icelandair.us or by calling (877) I-FLY-ICE.


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To: Interested Parties
From: Jamie Raskin, People For the American Way
Re: Take Back the Constitution from the Corporate Court
Date: July 23, 2012
The American people have been forced several times to amend the Constitution to reverse the damage caused by the Supreme Court when it acts in collusion with the enemies of social justice and popular democracy.
In 1857, in the Dred Scott decision, the Supreme Court ruled that white supremacy was built into the Constitution as the original intent of the Framers, that African-Americans therefore could not be citizens entitled to bring suit in federal court, and that African-Americans had no rights that the white man was bound to respect. After the Civil War, the Radical Republicans moved to reverse that infamous decision through the 13th, 14 th and 15th Amendments, which abolished slavery, proclaimed equal protection and due process under the laws, and protected the right to vote of all citizens regardless of race.
In 1875, in Minor v. Hapersett, the Court ruled that the Equal Protection Clause did not protect the right of women to vote, declaring that the domestic sphere was women's proper place. In response, the suffragists mobilized campaigns in the state legislatures and Congress, committed civil disobedience by chaining themselves to the White House fence, and accomplished passage in 1920 of the 19th Amendment.
In 1937, in Breedlove v. Suttles, the Court rejected an Equal Protection attack on the imposition of poll taxes as a condition for voting. This decision cemented the plutocratic and racist practice in many Southern states but the Civil Rights Movement finally won passage of the 24th Amendment in 1964 banning poll taxes in federal elections. Still, many states continued to charge poll taxes for voting in state elections, a practice that did not end until the Court read the 24th Amendment as changing the meaning of Equal Protection and struck it down in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966).
Indeed, most of the 17 constitutional amendments passed since the Bill of Rights have been franchise-expanding and democracy-reinforcing provisions that strengthen the progress of what Lincoln called "government of the people, by the people and for the people."
Of the Corporations, By the Corporations, For the Corporations
Now, in the bitterly divided Citizens United decision (2010), five Justices on the Roberts Court have held that corporations have the right to spend unlimited sums of money promoting or disparaging political candidates. This decision – built on the dangerous fallacy that state-chartered corporations enjoy the same political free speech rights as the people – strikes another dangerous blow against popular democracy. It is a blueprint for government of the big corporations, by the big corporations and for the big corporations.
Citizens United upended the bedrock understanding, more than a century old, that corporations, because of their "artificial" nature and all of the legal benefits bestowed upon them, have no "money speech" rights in political campaigns. The decision capsized at least four prior Court decisions, wiped out dozens of federal and state laws banning corporate political expenditures that go back more than sixty years, and undermined the rationale for the federal ban on corporations giving contributions directly to candidates that began with the Tilman Act in 1907.
The new doctrine is that, when it comes to campaign finance rights, the "identity of the speaker" is wholly irrelevant, and corporations have a First Amendment right to spend freely in politics because the speech they purvey is intrinsically valuable. Followed faithfully to its logic, this amazing doctrine protecting corporate political spending in the name of speech by citizens will end up not only toppling the ban on direct corporatecontributions to candidate campaigns but also empowering churches, non-profit corporations, aliens, cities (municipal corporations), states and foreign corporations to spend their treasury money on behalf of political candidates too, both as campaign spenders and campaign donors. If the identity of the speaker is irrelevant, well, then, the identity of the speaker is irrelevant – unless, of course, this triumphantly proclaimed categorical doctrine is, like the decision in Bush v. Gore, actually a one-way ticket good only for special persons and classes favored by the ruling faction on the Court.
Furthermore, James Bopp and the other pro-corporate lawyers driving this train are also now making clear that they want to do away with the campaign finance disclosure laws that we were originally told were the certain antidote to a full-blown corporate takeover of our politics. Today, corporate conservatives challenge campaign finance disclosure requirements as unconstitutional compelled speech, like making Jehovah's Witness school children pledge allegiance to the flag. They argue that corporations should not have to disclose their political expenditures and contributions at all because they will face intimidation and reprisal, even – God forbid – boycotts, from consumers who disagree with their political commitments. In other words, corporations have a right to speak because they are like citizens, but they should be completely insulated from the speech reactions of real citizens and given the power to channel their money not only massively but secretly to promote the corporate bottom line. This is some "marketplace of ideas" that the champions of corporate power have in mind for our democracy.
Many people have read Citizens United as establishing rights of "corporate personhood" but that step was taken long ago by another corporate-friendly Court, acting under the Equal Protection Clause, in the Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad decision in 1886. The Court has essentially recognized since that time that, since the property of real people is tied up in artificial corporations, it cannot be taken or seized outside of the ordinary protections of the constitutional system. But Citizens United advances a far more radical proposition: corporations must be treated not just fairly as economic entities but as equal rights-bearing political citizens of the Republic that may use the vastly greater wealth and resources they have earned from their economic activity to win political power and favorable public policy. This is not corporate personhood, as everyone says; it is super-personhood.
Conservative Judicial Activism Triumphant
The parties in Citizens United had not even asked the Supreme Court to reach this radical result. Indeed, the five conservative jurists sympathetic to Citizens United in the case had available to them numerous statutory routes for finding that the group had a right under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act to release its anti-Hillary Clinton movie before the 2008 election. As Justice Stevens suggested in dissent, an on-demand movie that people have to order is nothing like a ubiquitous television ad, and the vast majority of the money raised by Citizens United was from individual political contributions, only a de minimis amount from for-profit corporate sources–a situation that offered another easy way to find for Citizens United without overturning many decades of jurisprudence.
But the conservative justices obviously had much bigger game to kill. They ordered the parties to go back and brief and argue the big question they wanted to answer. And what do you know, after looking at the question they posed, the 5-justice bloc discarded the central canon of "constitutional avoidance" (the judicial preference for deciding cases on statutory rather than constitutional grounds whenever possible and interpreting statutes whenever possible so as not to create constitutional conflict) and came back with a decision that amounts to a declaration of political independence for corporations.
This decision reflected the triumph of a conservative judicial activism that has been pushing hard for decades to make corporate power king in our politics. One key player in this drive was corporate lawyer Lewis Powell, who wrote a memorandum to the Chamber of Commerce in August 1971, just two months prior to his nomination by President Richard Nixon to the Supreme Court, proposing a strategy for restoring corporate political dominance in the country. Once on the Court, Justice Powell authored the thin majority opinion in First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (1978), which gave banks and corporations the right to spend unlimited amounts of money in public initiative and referendum campaigns and first floated the radical concept that, when it comes to corporations seeking the right to be financial players in politics, the "identity of the speaker" is wholly irrelevant. Corporations are plain old folk, just like you and me.
The victory of the corporate mindset on the Court became complete in the first decade of the 21st century. Five conservative justices began the decade by shutting down the manual counting of more than 100,000 ballots in Florida and brazenly deciding the 2000 presidential election for George W. Bush, the candidate of right-wing corporate power. Since the next two Court vacancies were filled by Bush, the Court's conservatives engineered a dramatic pro-corporate makeover of the Court. As a result, five conservative justices ended the decade by authorizing corporations to become key money actors in every election in a way that no one had seen since the Watergate period when big businessmen passed bags of cash to President Richard Nixon's operatives and bagmen.
Demolishing the Wall of Separation Between Corporate Treasuries and Public Elections
To appreciate the radicalism of Citizens United requires an understanding of what the law was before 2010. Corporations could lobby Congress, states and localities and spent billions of dollars doing so. They could spend freely on "issue ads" promoting their policy positions and castigating their critics. They could spend money on voter registration drives and on internal corporate campaigning. They created Political Action Committees (PACs) and solicited contributions to them from their CEOs, executives and directors; the PACs could then contribute money directly to federal candidates or spend independently. Meantime, CEOs, other executives and directors—people whose income and wealth have soared over the last several decades in relation to the rest of the country – contributed directly to federal, state and local candidates as individuals. In other words, despite all of the ludicrous whining by Citizen United's defenders, the corporate perspective was never missing in American politics.
But there was one crucial thing that CEOs could not do prior to this outburst of right-wing judicial activism: they could not reach into their corporate treasuries to spend directly to advocate on behalf of (or against) the election of candidates for Congress or President.This prohibition essentially established a wall of separation between corporate treasury wealth and federal public elections. This wall was first erected by the Tillman Act of 1907 banning corporate campaign contributions to federal candidates; a policy decision advocated by President Theodore Roosevelt and made after a series of scandalous raids by insurance company executives on what Louis Brandeis called "other people's money" to finance the campaigns of friendly politicians. The wall was fortified over the last century by progressively stronger bans on independent corporate expenditures enacted in both federal and many state laws These bans were affirmed by the Supreme Court in Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990) and McConnell v. FEC (2003), decisions which recognized the necessity of maintaining sharp distance between corporate wealth and democratic politics to prevent what the Austin Court called "the corrosive and distorting effects of immense aggregations of wealth that are accumulated with the help of the corporate form and that have little or no correlation to the public's support for the corporation's political ideas."
The Roberts Court's demolition of this wall of separation crushed a specific understanding of the corporation that goes back two centuries and had been accepted not only by liberals but by most of the leading conservative justices in our history. A corporation has never been seen as a constitutional person with voting rights or even as a political membership organization, but rather as an "artificial entity" chartered by the states or federal government to serve economic purposes. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote in the Dartmouth College case (1818) that, "A corporation is an artificial being, invisible, intangible, and existing only in contemplation of law. Being the mere creature of law, it possesses only those properties which the charter of creation confers upon it, either expressly, or as incidental to its very existence." Any constitutional rights claimed by corporations are totally derivative of natural persons and if those rights are separately vindicated for the individuals, the corporation will have none to claim.
In the Bellotti case, conservative Justice Byron White pointed out that we endow private corporations with all kinds of extraordinary legal benefits and subsidies – "limited liability, perpetual life and the accumulation, distribution and taxation of assets" — in order to "strengthen the economy generally." But, he argued, a corporation has no constitutional right to convert its awesome state-enabled economic resources into political power. As he so cogently put it: "The state need not permit its own creation to consume it." Chief Justice William Rehnquist agreed, arguing that business corporations, which are magnificent agents of capital accumulation and wealth maximization in the economic sphere, "pose special dangers in the political sphere."
While champions of corporate political power pretend as if it would be impossible to disentangle corporations from politics, we have an easy model to follow, which is that of municipal corporations and states, which also have the capacity to "speak" on policy issues through their leaders but no constitutional right to spend money in our political campaigns. Of course, if the "identity of the speaker" is truly irrelevant, as the new dogma insists, then cities and states will inevitably come to acquire the corresponding right to spend money in politics influencing people's votes. Of course, this would be a bizarre inversion of democratic relationships—the same kind of inversion effected by Citizens United itself. Yet, if we fail to pull back from treating corporate wealth as a fountain of political expression, we may be forced to get cities and states involved as political actors as a very modest counterweight to the awesome power of the private corporations. Of course state and municipal governments captured by corporate-backed elected officials could just as well come to promote, rather than counter, the already-immense political voice of private corporations. At a certain point, Big Business and Big Government will just merge.
Enthroning Corporations
By demolishing the wall separating our campaigns from the trillions of dollars of corporate wealth in America, the Roberts Court has enthroned for-profit corporations in our politics and proved itself to be far to the right of the Rehnquist Court.
Consider what the decision might mean in the case of Exxon-Mobil, the nation's largest company and a powerful political actor even before Citizens United.
In the 2008 election cycle, Exxon-Mobil's PAC raised more than a million dollars from executives and directors, money that came from the pockets of real-live human beings (and could not be reimbursed to them by the corporation). That not insubstantial sum undoubtedly gave enhanced collective voice to whatever contributions the donors had made individually. Poor people don't have PACs to compete, but fair enough, this is how the system has worked for many decades.
But imagine if Citizens United had already been the law.
In 2008 the company made $70 billion in profits. If the CEO had taken a modest 10% of those annual profits and spent $7 billion promoting the corporate agenda in elections that year, it would have been more than the Obama campaign, the McCain campaign, and every Senate and House candidate combined.
That's one company in the Fortune 500. Multiply that new power by the other Big Oil players, the pharmaceutical industry, and the military-industrial complex, and you get a sense of how the Court has replaced the "one person one vote" relationship with the madcap ethos of Wall Street traders playing Monopoly and Risk with other people's money. All of this money, by law and by the very definition of what a corporation is, must be spent advancing the company bottom line and increasing shareholder value . Concern for the local or national community is an irrelevant, and potentially wrongful and actionable, distraction from maximizing shareholder returns.
Of course, Exxon-Mobil need not spend anything like billions of dollars in order to make its point. If the CEO drew down a mere 1% of its annual profits to spend $700 million, this would be more than enough to propel its agenda and end the political careers of the two or three most difficult Members of the Senate and House, sending a sharp signal to all the others about the price of crossing its path.
We have already seen the difference that free-flowing corporate money makes. The 2010 election should have been defined by three recent corporate catastrophes–the BP Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which wrecked an entire eco-system and inflicted billions of dollars of damage on the economy; the Massey company's collapsing coal mines in West Virginia, which cost 29 people their lives and were made possible by the corporation's aggressive lobbying and corruption of government; and the sub-prime mortgage meltdown brought to us by the misconduct and political machinations of AIG and Wall Street, which cost the American people trillions of dollars in lost home values (and lost homes), ravaged pension and retirement funds and destroyed stock equity.
But the massive infusion into the 2010 election campaign of tens of millions of dollars in corporate and personal wealth through secretive 501(c)4 and 501(c)6 organizations and the new super-PACs completely changed the subject away from these debacles. With 84 special-interest super-PACs in action and unknown numbers of 501c4 and 501c6 organizations pumping in secret money, the dominant theme of the election became—amazingly—the importance of further deregulating corporations. The Republican Party and the corporate-backed Tea Party captured control of the U.S. House of Representatives and brought near paralysis to national government. The corporate catastrophes experienced by the nation went unaddressed in the campaign and ignored by Congress.
Citizens United did not accomplish this feat alone but rather had a key strategic partner in SpeechNow v. FEC, another carefully staged 2010 right-wing legal production. This decision came from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which wiped out any limits on what individuals can give to independent expenditure campaigns and thus made Super-PACs what they are today. While Citizens United freed the corporations, SpeechNow emancipated the billionaires, like Sheldon Adelson, the casino king, whose $20 million Super-PAC spending kept Newt Gingrich's 2012 presidential campaign on a system of parallel life support through barrages of negative advertising unleashed on Mitt Romney in the Republican primaries. After Romney won the nomination, Adelson put $10 million into an anti-Obama Super-Pac and promises to spend tens or even hundreds of millions dollars more to elect Romney president.
Today there are 577 Super-PACs and experts predict that more than $1 billion will be channeled into the 2012 election.
A Constitutional Amendment is Democratic Self-Defense
Amending the Constitution today to rebuild the wall of separation between corporate treasury wealth and political campaigns is an act not only of essential democratic self-respect but urgent democratic self-defense and self-preservation.
An Amendment gives us the chance to exorcise the plutocratic demons that have haunted us since the rise of industrial capitalism and were constitutionalized when the Court in Buckley v. Valeo ruled that wealthy individuals cannot be limited in their independent political expenditures. The Buckley Court dismissed as invalid a democratic interest in promoting the conditions for political speech equality. Ignoring the rigorously equal speech allotments we use in every major political and legal institution–including the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court itself, not to mention candidate political debates and the equal access rules governing broadcast radio and television, the Court simply declared that the "concept that government may restrict the speech of some [in] order to enhance the relative voice of others is wholly foreign to the First Amendment. . ." This was the moment when the Court drove a deep wedge between political liberty and political equality in favor of class power.
A constitutional amendment that empowers Congress and the states to regulate campaign contributions and expenditures would permit revival, on a viewpoint-neutral basis, of the essential but invalidated prohibitions on corporate political expenditures and unlimited billionaire spending. Such an Amendment could also reassert the public's imperiled interest in campaign finance disclosure and, as Professor Laurence Tribe has pointed out, the public's much-eroded interest in building public campaign financing regimes that make publically financed candidates at least minimally competitive with privately financed candidates–an interest that the Supreme Court has trashed of late, in cases like Davis v. FEC (2008) and Arizona Free Enterprise Club's Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett (2011). In these decisions, the Court has, in essence, ruled that privately financed candidates backed by wealthy interests have not only a right to spend to the heavens to win office but a right to freeze their financial advantages over publically financed candidates, whose campaigns may not be subsidized or aided by government in any way to enlarge their power to communicate effectively against candidates of massive private wealth. Here, as distorted beyond recognition by the Roberts Court, the First Amendment becomes not the guardian of equal democratic liberties but the guarantee of unequal protection of the laws.
Many civil libertarian stalwarts, like Burt Neuborne and Professor Geoffrey Stone, have not fallen for this prostitution of the First Amendment and some have expressed strong support for a constitutional amendment to undo the damage.
But it is a matter of some melancholy that others, like the esteemed Laura W. Murphy, head of the Washington office of the ACLU, have been condemning a constitutional amendment strategy. Murphy wrote in the Huffington Post that, "The Constitution's radical stability is its greatest strength." But the people have repeatedly amended the Constitution when the Supreme Court makes common cause with the opponents of popular democracy. As Justice Thurgood Marshall observed in his famous speech on the Bicentennial of the Constitution, "the true miracle was not the birth of the Constitution, but its life, a life nurtured through two centuries of our own making . . ."
Yet, Murphy argues that this proposed Amendment would be different from others because "this would be the first amendment in history to limit individual, constitutionally guaranteed rights." This claim is flawed for two reasons. The first is that the Citizens United case extended no new rights to any individual citizens, with the singular exception of individual CEOs who now enjoy the "right" to write checks from their corporate treasuries to advance or disparage political campaigns. The right to spend our ownmoney in politics was one already enjoyed by every citizen.
The second problem is that, throughout American history, there have been loud complaints that progressive constitutional amendments strip certain people of preexisting rights. The slavemasters and their apologists were adamant that the 13th Amendment deprived them of their property rights – and surely it did under existing law; similarly, many white males felt as if the weight of their votes were diluted by the addition of black and women voters–and surely they were; the opposition to the 16th Amendment on income tax was organized around property rights and some people's aversion to taxes; and so on. It is simply false to say that kicking corporate money out of political campaigns would be the first time that a constitutional amendment would realign the balance of rights in our country or make some people feel as if they are losing an edge in the legal system.
Plutocracy Distorts the Market as well as Our Politics
We have to face the fact that the new regime being developed by the Supreme Court is straight-up plutocracy, rule by the wealthy, and its structural foundation is private corporate wealth. Defenders of the regime like to point out that there are tens of thousands of corporations in America, most of them small, but this is an irrelevant distraction from how the corporate "wealth primary" works in the real world. Major industries that have an "extractive" character and a parasitic relationship on government—Wall Street, Big Oil, Big Pharma, major military contractors like Haliburton—cultivate a financial dependency in politicians which permits the corporations to continue what economists call "rent-seeking" arrangements with the government.
These arrangements operate on a simple investment and return basis: corporations invest several million dollars in campaigns and lobbying, collect an astounding return of hundreds of millions or billions of dollars in tax breaks, corporate welfare, corporate warfare, sweetheart contracts, big bailouts, deregulation, and inside deals. This squalid form of "public policy" is splendid for the corporations involved but dismal for everyone else, including the smaller businesses that do not have the finance capital to invest in the political system. A plutocratic state denies both political justice and a fair and competitive market economy in which businesses thrive by virtue of their creativity and initiative rather than the size of their campaign spending and their stable of lobbyists. Adam Smith would be just as appalled as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams at this state of affairs.
America has a market economy, which has served us very well in many ways. But we cannot afford to have a total market society in which major corporate power is dominant in our politics, superior to the voices of the people, and controlling of major public policy questions. We should want all private corporations, even the larger ones, to succeed, innovate, create, thrive and prosper, but never to govern and thereby thwart the will – and replace the essential political sovereignty – of the people.
* * * * * * *
Jamie Raskin is a professor of constitutional law at American University's Washington College of Law and a Democratic State Senator in Maryland where he chairs the Special Committee on Ethics Reform and serves as Majority Whip. He is the bestselling author of several books, including Overruling Democracy: The Supreme Court versus the American People and We the Students: Supreme Court Cases for and About Students. He is also a Senior Fellow at People For the American Way. He can be reached at [email protected].


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The most important activity for any start-up (or existing business come to that) is research. If you don't understand your customers, your market, or your products properly, you will make mistakes. And these could cost your business.
With this in mind, it looks like Guandong Enterprises ltd failed to do their research when producing a piece of memorabilia to celebrate our forthcoming royal nuptials. Although the names are correct on the 'Royal mug', the image is of red-haired Harry, instead of his older brother, less colourful brother Will.
Ironically although this mug is not likely to be a best seller, its value is going to go sky-high due to the mistake.


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Greatest Game Cosplay Ever (This Week): Pokemon Gijinka, Jubilee, Bane + More
This week in the Greatest Game Cosplay Ever, we're taking a look at a few more pieces of Pokemon gijinka and a handful of other costumes that beg to be seen. Have you ever gone around a convention and marveled at the number of people who are dressed sort of like non-human characters... but also not? That's called gijinka, my friend! It's the art of personifying non-human characters with dress or costumes.
Here we have some prime examples of how you can take some elements from a particular character and fashion a suit after it in order to make an instantly recognizable costume. Check them out below and don't forget to appreciate the other costumes, like the incredibly-convincing take on Ira Gamagoori from 'Kill La Kill'.
Are you a cosplayer or a cosplay photographer? Maybe you're both! If you have a particular cosplay or portfolio you'd like us to check out, please submit a link to John-at-ArcadeSushi.com. Additionally, if there are any cosplayers or photographers that we've highlighted that wish their works to be removed, please reach out to let us know.
All images were shot by Darshelle Stevens and Anna Fischer. Check the links to see more of their amazing art and to stay up-to-date on their latest shoots with some of the world's premiere cosplayers.
KO Cosplay as Wartortle Gijinka (Pokemon)
Miggy Jagger as Manriel (Rule 63 Ariel)
Byndo Gehk as Totodile Gijinja (Pokemon)
Chubear as Sailor Galaxia (Sailor Moon)
Megustaguy as Bane (The Dark Knight Rises)
Hazel Honeysuckle as Jubilee (X-Men)
Unknown as Gyrados Gijinka (Pokemon)
Sev Cosplay as Ira Gamagori (Kill La Kill)
Dessi-Desu Cosplay as Sailor Cosmos (Sailor Moon)
Stella Chuu as Rei Ayanami (Neon Genesis Evangelion)


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U.S. Army Plots Bring Your Own Device Strategy
Army's aggressive mobile device plans include a BYOD policy, new
February 23, 2012
10 Great iPad Apps From Uncle Sam
10 Great iPad Apps From Uncle Sam (click image for larger view and for slideshow)
By next year, the Army will begin a shift toward allowing some soldiers and Army civilian employees to use their own personal mobile devices at work, Army deputy CIO Mike Krieger said Thursday at an event in Washington, D.C.
"I should be able to walk into my office with my phone and sign a form to allow the government to put a zero client on the phone and still be able to use it on the network," Krieger said.
Krieger said that the Army should be ready within 12 months to issue a major procurement for mobile technology that will likely include virtual mobile client technology and a new version of the Army's CAC Sleds, Bluetooth readers that work with military smart cards to enable users to sign their mobile devices onto Army networks. The new version could use near-field communication, Krieger speculated.
The Army's move to a consolidated enterprise email infrastructure will help drive the military service's mobility strategy along, Krieger added. That migration, which was temporarily paused in January due to Congressional requirements, should start back up by mid-March.
[ BYOD is a growing movement in the U.S. government. See Feds To Employees: Use Your Own Devices At Work. ]
Thus far, 307,000 users have migrated to the enterprise email system, which will consolidate the Army's historically heavily fragmented email infrastructure into the Defense Information Systems Agency's data centers and provide Army soldiers and employees access to a global address book and other new features. By the end of the migration, Krieger said he expects that 70,000 users, or about 10% of the final tally of enterprise email users overall, will be mobile users.
Enterprise email should give the Army better insight into how many mobile devices the Army has and where they are, Krieger said. It will also enable better mobile security and easier management. "Enterprise email is really just the first step in moving to Department of Defense (DOD) enterprise services," Krieger said. "It has little to do with email."
Krieger's mobile vision is split between the tactical Army forces operating in the field and everybody else.
Those Army soldiers and civilians who aren't out working in tactical environments on the battlefield or other sensitive environments might well be able to bring their own devices into the Army environment, and will likely access Army IT resources via a secure, "zero-client" environment that won't require or allow data to be stored on the device. The majority of these devices, Krieger said, won't need to be ruggedized, and this strategy would support multiple mobile operating systems.
For those in the field, however, things would be a little bit more locked down. Krieger said that he anticipated devices for these soldiers and civilians would continue to be provided by the government and more of them would likely remain ruggedized. Bandwidth problems, meanwhile, would require there to be more thick clients.
Kreiger said he sees the Army's moves in mobility as only a part of the DOD's wider mobility strategy, and not an effort for the Army unto itself. "We may be pushing the envelope and moving fast, but it's all designed to be joint from the beginning," he said. "If I'm talking mobile devices, DISA is going to be the mobile provider. The Army is out of the mobile device business." DOD deputy CIO Rob Carey said at the event that the military will be releasing a military-wide mobile device strategy this spring.
Although the Army is taking the lead, the Marines and other services are close behind. James Kraft, the Marine Corps deputy CIO, said Thursday that the Marines were partnering with the Army on the broader mobile strategy, but noted that the Marines still had a number of concerns with ubiquitous mobility. "There are still a lot of issues that we are struggling with," he admitted.
Elsewhere in the DOD, there are a number of mobile pilots underway. "I can't even count all the pilots that we have going on," said Carey. Among them include everything from pilots for unclassified use to a National Security Agency project to provide secure voice over IP on Motorola Droid Pro devices up to a top-secret level.
As federal agencies embrace devices and apps to meet employee demand, the White House seeks one comprehensive mobile strategy. Also in the new Going Mobile issue of InformationWeek Government: Find out how the National Security Agency is developing technologies to make commercial devices suitable for intelligence work. (Free registration required.)
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Australian National Botanic Gardens
Born Adelaide, South Australia in 1947. Resident of Canberra, ACT, since 1970.
Had a keen interest in botany and Australian plants from an early age and worked at the State Herbarium of South Australia during his vacations while a student at Unley High School and Adelaide University. Also had university vacation jobs at the herbaria at Alice Springs (1968-69) and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney (1969-70).
His first full-time job was with the Herbarium (CBG) of the Australian National Botanic Gardens (then called Canberra Botanic Gardens) from 1970, becoming Director of Visitor Services in the late 1980s. He was also a member of the Executive of the Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR) and the Australian National Herbarium (a facility managed jointly by CSIRO and the Australian National Botanic Gardens).
In 2000 he moved to the Botanical Information Group of the Australian National Botanic Gardens to manage the electronic dissemination of botanical information and the image/photograph collection and also to manage the website for the ANBG and CANBR.
He retired in 2012, becoming an Honorary Associate of both the Botanic Gardens and the Australian National Herbarium.
He has published a range of botanical-horticultural books in collaboration with John Wrigley, starting with Australian Native Plants in 1979, now in its fifth edition. His line illustrations and photographs are used throughout these books. He has also published directories of Australian botanic gardens. Most recently he has published, with John Wrigley, a biological/social-history book on the eucalypts.
He has a private collection of about 40,000 photographs of Australian plants and vegetation which have been used extensively for both popular and scientific publications and interactive CDs. He has made many of these photos available to the Australian Plant Image Index maintained by the Australian National Botanic Gardens (www.anbg.gov.au/photo/).
Herbarium collections: early collections 1963-1970 lodged at AD (Adelaide) some dups at CANB and CBG (Canberra), 1970s lodged at CBG (Canberra), after 1980 the vouchers for photographs taken by M.Fagg are lodged as collections by Purdie, R.W.
Source: Personal Communication


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Functions: imc STUDIO
As a modular software framework, imc STUDIO combines many separate tools in a seamless and integrated environment. Within this framework, users are able to both quickly perform basic measurements and create sophisticated test configurations. These may incorporate elements from the graphical user interface, perform manual and automated test control, utilize imc FAMOS analysis sequences and manage complete automation systems.


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Study Reveals Falling Toilet Seats Are a Real Danger to Kids
If you're teaching your son how to use the toilet, here's some sobering news.
New research has found that trips to the ER caused by falling toilet seats are on the rise and that most of the victims are kids.
Essentially, the injuries are caused when the toilet seat falls on a penis while someone is urinating.
Data shows such hospital visits have jumped by about 100 per year between 2002 and 2010. In 2010, more than 1,700 people had to go to the emergency room for toilet-related injuries to the groin, with 97% of them under the age of 8.
The study's head researcher said the number of toilet seat falling on penis injuries could actually be higher, since a lot of parents probably don't take their children to the hospital.
Earlier research had indicated as many as 16,000 people go to ER annually with genital injuries and that more than 13,000 injuries to the genitals resulting in hospital visits between 2002 and 2010 were caused by toilets.


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Touring The Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Site In 2010
I just returned to the United States after being in Ukraine the past five days over Easter weekend. The purpose of this trip was to explore the site of the Chernobyl nuclear accident and surrounding areas -- Kyiv, Pripyat, the Red Forest, etc. Contrary to some initial beliefs, it was not an April Fools' Joke. Due to the great interest in Chernobyl among those interested in science and technology whether it be due to the fascination with nuclear power or finding Chernobyl popularized by video games, documentaries, and the like, I have published my collection of these photographs of Chernobyl showing what the area looks like in 2010 -- just days prior to the 24th anniversary of this catastrophic disaster -- along with some of my thoughts and information collected from this journey.
As some background information on the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, it is located in Ukraine and just kilometers from the border with Belarus. The power plant is located around 110 kilometers (about 70 miles) north of Kyiv / Kiev, the capitol of Ukraine. Chernobyl was Ukraine's first nuclear power plant (but not the first for the Soviet Union) and its first reactor went into operation in 1977. Only four nuclear reactors were operational at the Chernobyl site, but an additional two nuclear reactors were being built at Chernobyl when the 1986 accident took place. I toured Chernobyl for two days on the 3rd and 4th of April. While most nuclear tourists spend only a day on the site, even when spending two days in the area you only begin to scratch the surface of this most severe nuclear accident the world has ever confronted. A week could easily be spent at Chernobyl simply touring the abandoned buildings. For those interested, I captured all of these photographs using a Nikon D40x with an 18~70mm Nikkor AF-S DX lens and a Nikon D5000 with a 55~200mm Nikkor VR lens. Clicking on any of the photographs in this article will give you a full screen version of the photograph (up to 1800px wide, but larger versions may be available upon request) along with a caption for each photograph and a longer description where applicable. For those interested in sharing these new Chernobyl photographs with others, you can simply pass along the link of Chernobyl2010.com.
While the nuclear accident of 1986 is what Chernobyl is known for, there were two other nuclear accidents of smaller magnitude that took place at this nuclear power plant before it was finally decommissioned in the year 2000. In 1982, there was a smaller accident within Chernobyl's Reactor #1, but it was not nearly as significant and the reactor returned to an operational state within months. In 1991, there was a fire in Reactor #2 that caused severe damage and ultimately led to the shutdown of this nuclear reactor. Reactor #4 is home to the infamous Chernobyl accident. The other reactors were not permanently shutdown immediately as Ukraine was dependent upon Chernobyl for its electricity production and for the country it would not make economic sense to prematurely discontinue the use of the other reactors. Reactor #1 was permanently decommissioned in 1996 and Reactor #3 was finally retired from operation in 2000.
The fifth and sixth reactors being built at Chernobyl are located across the cooling channel from the first four reactors. Chernobyl's Reactor #5 was roughly 85% complete at the time of the April 1986 disaster and would have been fully operational within one year, but as it followed the same design as Reactor #4 with its RBMK graphite-moderated reactor technology that was conceived in the 1950's, it was decided to never finish work on this reactor or any others; construction equipment is left still standing 24 years later.
For those unfamiliar with the events leading up to this appalling nuclear accident, it is actually the result of testing out a safety feature on this reactor that went horribly wrong. In late April of 1986, Reactor #4 was scheduled to be temporarily shutdown for maintenance, and during the shutdown procedure, it was decided by plant workers to test the emergency cooling capabilities of this reactor. Should the nuclear reactor need to be shutdown in the case of an emergency, the cooling system still needs to function in order to prevent the reactor from overheating and damaging the nuclear fuel that continue to generate heat. In order for the cooling system to work, power is needed for the cooling pumps and to provide such there were back-up diesel generators at Chernobyl in case of a power loss. With diesel generators not being able to power-up and scale to full power instantaneously, there is a gap of time (over a minute) following any emergency shutdown where the water pumps still need to function. Chernobyl's plant workers were testing the viability of using the reactor's steam turbine to generate the needed electricity until the diesel generators could begin providing sufficient power. This was the fourth time over the course of several years that this experiment was carried out -- with all earlier attempts having failed -- but this time it turned deadly.


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LEDs can and will die a horrible death if you don't know what kind of load they can handle (still not sure how to find it out, but I killed two of em last night Wink
Did the LED ever work? Does it work in a simpler circuit?


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John Legend to Play Title Role in Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert
Music icon John Legend has signed on to play Jesus Christ in NBC's upcoming TV concert presentation Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert. David Leveaux will direct the previously announced new version of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's 1971 musical, slated to take place on Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018. The concert will be filmed live from Brooklyn, NY.
"I'm thrilled to join the cast of this production of Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert," Legend said. "It's such a powerful, meaningful musical and I'm humbled to be part of this performance. We've already formed an incredible team, and, as we finish casting, I'm certain we will put together some of the greatest talents around to do this work justice."
A highly accomplished musician, concert performer, songwriter, actor, and music and film producer, Legend is one of the composers of the new Broadway musical SpongeBob SquarePants. He earned a 2017 Tony Award as producer of August Wilson's Jitney. Legend is also an Oscar, Golden Globe and 10-time Grammy winner.
Legend joins the previously announced Alice Cooper as King Herod. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
Jesus Christ Superstar is based on the final week of Jesus' life. The 1971 musical opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on Broadway and was nominated for five Tonys. Since then, the musical has been considered a classic and has become a staple of theater and music organizations throughout the world. A film adaptation was released in 1973.


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Flush - 3x
Straight - 2x
Three of a Kind - 1x


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- Home
- Departments
- Economic Development
- Business Resources
Business Resources
Prepare your Deltona business for growth with the assistance of the economic development office. They offer support in site selection, tours, and navigating regulations for tailored solutions. Explore the listed resources for effective business planning and market research.
- DeLand and Greater West Volusia
- 336 N Woodland Boulevard
DeLand, FL 32720 - Phone: 386-734-4331
- 336 N Woodland Boulevard
- Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida
- 505 Deltona Boulevard
Suite 103
Deltona, FL 32725 - Phone: 386-626-4264
- 505 Deltona Boulevard
- American Community Survey - A new nationwide survey with annual updates designed to provide communities a fresh look at how they are changing. Focus on 800 geographical areas profiles and rankings.
- American Factfinder - User-friendly source for census information on population, housing, geographic or economic data. Search for Fact Sheets on your community by zip code, city/town, county or state.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis - Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Facts. Narrative analysis for states, counties, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), and BEA Economic Areas: area's personal income using current estimates, growth rates, and a breakdown of the sources of personal income.
- Business Insurance - A comprehensive guide.
- County Business Patterns - Search for business data by county, by ZIP Code or by MSA (metropolitan statistical area).
- Economic Indicators - Here's where to find the leading economic indicators as they are updated. Housing starts, household income, manufacturers' shipments, inventories and orders, construction spending and more.
- Score - Free counseling assistance is available to anyone seeking to start a business or need information on how to grow their business.
- Virtual Entrepreneur Center - Information for new and growing businesses through the Volusia/Flagler Higher Education Consortium.
Other Important Links
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations
- Better Business Bureau - Better Business Bureaus can alert you to complaints against companies in your area.
- Deltona Area Chamber of Commerce
- West Volusia Regional Chamber of Commerce - A not for profit organization representing a broad-based coalition of businesses from throughout Central Florida.
- Volusia County Economic Development Office - Everything your growing business needs.
- Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - Businesses that sell or serve food or food products must be inspected by either the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (800-435-7352) or by the Division of Hotel and Restaurant Commission 407-623-1240) prior to obtaining an Occupational License. The Division of Hotel and Restaurant Commission is located at:
940 W Morse Boulevard
Suite 290
Winter Park, FL 32789
- Fictitious Name Registration - Anyone conducting business in the State of Florida must file a Fictitious Name Registration with the State of Florida as per Florida Statute section 865.09. This applies to anyone conducting business and using a business name that does not fall under the State of Florida exemption guidelines. For further information, contact the State of Florida Fictitious Name Department at 850-245-6058.
- Corporations - Corporations are filed with the Secretary of State. Call 850-245-6052 for further information. Out-of-state corporations must register with the Secretary of State if they intend to use their corporate name. For further information, call 850-245-6051.
- State Sales Tax - State Sales Tax numbers are issued by the Florida Department of Revenue. Their local office is located at:
5420 Diplomat Circle
Orlando, FL 32810
For further information, call 407-623-1141. - Federal Taxes - Federal I.D. numbers are issued by the Internal Revenue Service. For further information, call 800-829-1040.
- State Licensing - State licensing requirements can be obtained by calling the Consumer Services Department at 800-435-7352.
- Workman's Compensation - Information can be obtained by calling the Orlando office of the Department of Labor at 407-245-0758.
- Florida First Capital Finance Corporation - Promotes and assists the growth and development of small businesses.
- U.S. Small Business Administration - Programs and services to help you start to grow and succeed.
- Florida Black Business Investment Board - Financing for black-owned businesses.
- Florida Trend's Small Business Magazine
- Office of Supplier Diversity - A specialized team within the Division of State Purchasing that is available to help improve business opportunities for Florida-based woman-, veteran- and minority-owned small businesses. Dedicated to supporting our clients through entrepreneurial and business development, seminars and workshops, access to capital, management, and technical assistance, individual consulting, contract matchmaking, program management, construction services, community advocacy and through our partnerships with other technical assistance providers on local, state and federal levels.
- Career Source Flagler-Volusia - The Career Source is a state-funded program provides a variety of services for employers and employees. The One Stop office helps match employees with employers and provides various employee training. They are located at:
Career Source Flagler-Volusia
846 Saxon Boulevard
Orange City, FL 32763
For further information, call 386-473-7970. - SBA Small Business Guides
- SBA (Small Business Development Center) - The U.S. Small Business Administration and the State of Florida pay the Florida SBDC to provide no-cost business assistance, research resources and skills training to Volusia County businesses.


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The tonsils are two glandular masses of lymph node-like tissue that are located on either side of the throat. The function of the tonsils is to trap incoming bacteria and viruses that might enter the body through the throat. However, sometimes the tonsils themselves become infected. When this occurs, a fever and sore throat may develop. The tonsils usually become red and swollen, and they often will have white spots on them.
Frequent bouts of tonsillitis may require a tonsillectomy, or the surgical removal of the tonsils. There are many ways to remove the tonsils. However, the method most often used today is electrical cauterization, whereby a surgeon uses electrical energy applied from a surgical instrument to remove the tonsils. This method results in very little bleeding. A wire and snare technique can also be used; with this method, a surgeon effectively lassos the tonsils and snips them off with a sharp wire. Tornwaldt
Undergoing a tonsillectomy generally does not affect a person's ability to ward off infection. The number of throat infections can be reduced, but not eliminated.
It is important to discuss all risks and potential complications with the surgeon prior to having this procedure.


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5 things to know about the Sochi Olympics
SOCHI, Russia — Fast five, Saturday edition: Things you'll want to know about the 2014 Winter Olympics.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN: And they do. The first five gold medals of the Sochi Games were up for grabs Saturday (Sunday in Manila), including: men's 10-kilometer biathlon sprint, women's 7.5-kilometer + 7.5 kilometer skiathlon, women's freestyle ski moguls, men's snowboard slopestyle and men's 5000-meter speedskating.
THAT MISSING RING: "I don't see what the problem is, to be honest," International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams says of questions about Russian state television's use of rehearsal footage to mask the fact that one of five Olympic rings didn't light up during Sochi's opening ceremony. While the 40,000 spectators in the stadium saw the glitch, Russian state television cut away to air the recorded images showing all five rings joining together and fireworks exploding.
HIJACK RATIONALE: More information is emerging on the 45-year-old Ukrainian man who authorities say tried to hijack a Turkey-bound commercial flight and divert it to Sochi on the day of the Winter Olympics' opening ceremony. They say he wanted to press for the release of anti-government protesters in his country. Turkey's transport minister suggests the man probably acted alone.
INTERESTING CHOICE: The IOC is also defending Russia's choosing of figure skating icon Irina Rodnina as one of the torchbearers for the Sochi opening ceremony. Rodnina, a three-time gold medalist, drew criticism in September for tweeting a photo of U.S. President Barack Obama that some felt was racist. Sochi Organizing Committee President Dmitry Chernyshenko says the Olympics is about sports, not politics.
BREAK DOWN THE DOOR: Locked in a bathroom in the athletes' village, U.S. bobsledder Johnny Quinn found a novel way out: crashing through the door. The former NFL player with Green Bay and Buffalo posted a photo of a gaping hole in the former door. A U.S. team spokeswoman couldn't say whether Quinn will have to pay for it.
Lone PH bet Martinez stands tall at Sochi Winter Olympics
'Lesbian' group Tatu involved in Sochi Olympics opening